Getting More Out of What You Consume

Have a goal#

You will go further if you put more effort into learning one thing rather than a random assortment, thus diffusing your efforts. You also gain the superpower of having the permission to ignore things if they’re not on-goal for now; you can always come back later if your goals change.

I do believe that systems are more important than goals. This whole thing you’re reading is a proto-system. However, systems can be focused by goals. Sometimes you can stuff a system into a goal; for example. Ultralearning seems to have caught some fire recently as a form of super intense, immersive learning. Joe Previte summarizes it as such: “Set a goal to experiment say with new technology for 31 days. Check it out. See what you think. Write down what you learn.” Note that I’m not saying you have to have a goal at all times. Sometimes undirected learning is fun and leads to serendipity.

Take notes#

A syllogism:

• There’s no point learning anything if you can’t recall it - or rather, the more you can recall, the more you actually learned.
• There is a natural limit on how much you can recall at any time.
• So, to learn more than your brain can hold, you must take notes.

This is currently in vogue as Building a Second Brain, but it should be no surprise that “personal knowledge management” is a key life habit for knowledge workers. It’s not a fad. It’s something professionals have always learned in order to get good.

I have a bias toward digital notes because search is a superpower. However, the search is no substitute for an organization, which at its simplest is a tagging system, but at its best is a “minimum spanning taxonomy” of the subject matter.

For the same amount of content stored, an organized mind will always outperform a disorganized one.

Spaced repetition#

Another tactic is just trying to increase how much you can recall. Michael Nielsen is famous for making bombastic claims about the capacity of long-term memory, but the basic principle is sound: use spaced repetition learning. Anki is the leader here. I’ll be honest; I don’t do this much. In a way, having a daily habit of pursuing the same topic and making sure to take searchable notes leads you toward spaced repetition anyway. Of course, I could always do a better job because I often have to recall things on the spot in interviews and workshops.

Deliberate practice#

A lot has been made of Gladwell’s popularization of the 10,000-hour rule, but it is undisputed that you grow the most when you practice at the edge of your abilities. Don’t be surprised if you spend 10,000 hours staying within your comfort zone and don’t get any better. You have to deliberately push your limits when you practice, or your limits will never move. Enough said? Enough said. But I do want to highlight two ways to home in on the exact limits of your ability:

• Pick up what they put down
• The Ben Franklin method

Pick up what they put down#

I have called this “the ultimate hack for learning in public”, but of course, you can also do it in private. Follow up on anything and everything your unknowing mentor says is good, yet to be done, or straight up, replicate their work.

The Ben Franklin method#

I’ve read this before, but Mike White recently reminded me of it. The “Ben Franklin” method is shorthand for a dissect and reconstruct process for training yourself to notice differences in quality between your output and your input. This is why you think your work sucks - your tastes have zoomed far ahead of your abilities. Ira Glass calls this the gap. The Ben Franklin method is a feedback loop for closing the gap.

The Feynman technique#

The Feynman technique is a similar framing of this, which is more self-oriented rather than focused on replicating techniques of others.